Paper description The author brings us a tale of her life as a child in a large southwestern home with a trailer on the land for visitors. During the Depression, her family fed the hungry and the trailer housed visiting artists passing through making colorful stories. The children were charged with entertaining them not realizing them fame. Names: Poncho Villa, George Biddle, Madame Schuman Heink (voice teacher), San Carlo Opera Company (Lawrence Melchior and Nelson Eddy), Robert Onderdonk, Thomas Allen, Ida...

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As a hospice volunteer, the author meets and befriends her patient's close friend, Fran. The author includes the history of the modern hospice, as well as the story of Fran's interesting and unusual life. The author became friend and caregiver for Fran until her death 6 1/2 years after they met.

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About "place" and its effect on us. Western medicine began with Hippocrates, who observed over 2000 years ago that our well being is affected by our settings. Western psychology and medicine (for example, SAD), as well as Chinese feng shui, are subjects of the essay.

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A lighthearted, but informative survey of eyeglasses through the ages, from attempts to read through water, to today's contact lenses and surgery. The important role fashion has played is included along with technical advancements.

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One of the great humorists of the Fortnightly - In the author’s words: “An exposé, self imposed. Revelations concerning: (Chapter I) the writer’s addiction to house sales, things, and bargains, and (Chapter 2) the writer’s ruminations on living alone, crime in the suburbs (For example, encounters with a young robber in her home and with the police).

Paper description A trip to Paris with friends leads (1) to the story of the author’s purchase of a painting of a pregnant ewe by sheep painter Jean Francois Fourtou (of Madrid) and (2) a subject for her Fortnightly paper about both the artist and the history of Merino sheep (which began in Asia Minor). Serious breeding began in Canaan and moved around the Mediterranean and beyond. The finest wooled Merino sheep are ancestors of the famous imperial Merino flock at Rambouillet, a gift from the King of Spain to...

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Inspired by the contemporaneous exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago, the author writes about the life and times of Cleopatra.

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A memoir by one of the great humorists of the Fortnightly during the early years of the 21st century, Ann Hosbein. It is a straightforward account of the author’s early married years in Frostburg, Maryland, shot through with her witty perspective.

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Two years embedded in Japanese life for the author and her physician husband. Assigned to Hiroshima, John worked on research with survivors of the bomb, while Nancy taught English. The author highlights the delights of interacting with American and Japanese friends and learning the challenges of being an American in Japan.

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A personal history of the European sphere of World War II interwoven with factual military details and battles throughout the war. The answer to the question in the title is moot. Topics: D-Day, Nazi Germany.

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A beautifully crafted memoir of the author’s lonely childhood (in St. Paul, MN), which includes life after the arrival of her baby brother. He becomes an admirable young adult before being killed in action in World War II.

Paper description The color of piano keys leads to a paper on the history of the piano. The story begins in Florence about 1700 (Medici court). How the contrasts with its ancestors: the spinets, virginals, clavichords, and harpsichords. The leather-covered hammers control loudness, thus allow a wide range of expressiveness. The author is a pianist, specializing in 2 piano duets. Topics: Bartolomew Cristofori, Fernando Maria de Medici Scrpione Maffei, Silbermann, Bach, Princess Charlotte, John Broadwood,...

Paper description The writer tells of her trip to Mexico and then expands into the country's history. She describes its many revolutions, the role of the Catholic Church, and the long term of the Indians and their Aztec culture. She continues in detail the history of Mexico and then writes about Mexico of today. Miscellaneous topics: 1521 Aztec nation crushed by Spanish forces; San Miguel, Mexico; Virgin of Guadalupe; prince Cuauhtémoc; writer Octavo Paz; Hernan Cortex; the Mestizos; discovery of silver;...